The present invention relates to a connector, particularly to a connector to be mounted on a flexible substrate in which a conductive portion is exposed at least on the top surface of the flexible substrate.
As a connector to be mounted on a flexible substrate, for example, JP 2005-63872 A discloses a connector 1 as shown in FIG. 37. The connector 1 is to be installed on a flat cable 2 and includes a base 3 and a cover 4 that are made of resin and make up a housing, a metallic plate 6 that is fitted in the base 3 and has a slot 5 formed therein, and a metallic connection portion 8 that has a piercing portion 7. The flat cable 2 is sandwiched between the base 3 and the cover 4 and, at the same time, in contact with a surface of the plate 6.
When the flat cable 2 is pierced with the piercing portion 7 of the connection portion 8 via a guide hole 4A of the cover 4, a flat conductor 9 in the flat cable 2 is sheared by the piercing portion 7, and with insertion of the piercing portion 7, a sheared portion of the flat conductor 9 is pressed into the slot 5 of the plate 6 together with the piercing portion 7 and comes into contact with the piercing portion 7 and serves as a fractured extension portion 9A. As a result, the connection portion 8 and the flat conductor 9 are electrically connected to each other.
Meanwhile, the flat conductor 9 is covered by an insulating material 10 of the flat cable 2 and, accordingly, when the flat cable 2 is pierced with the piercing portion 7 of the connection portion 8, the insulating material 10 is also sheared together with the flat conductor 9. Consequently, a sheared piece of the insulating material 10 may be caught between the piercing portion 7 and the flat conductor 9, resulting in a poor contact between the piercing portion 7 and the fractured extension portion 9A of the flat conductor 9. When such a poor contact occurs, the reliability of electrical connection between the connection portion 8 and the flat conductor 9 decreases.